In the Heights

On a recent visit to James, reviewed by Mike Peed in this week’s Tables for Two, the wait was long (ninety minutes) and dinner late (nearly 10:30) but well worth it. The table was enjoying themselves enough to want to buy another bottle of wine and linger; the waitress regretfully told them the place was closing up. But she was willing to chat, and offer suggestions for where to go next. She named some of the usual spots—Brooklyn Inn, Flatbush Farm—but her enthusiasm was reserved for Weather Up, a relatively new bar from the owners of Milk & Honey. Not surprisingly, the emphasis there is on cocktails; but what the waitress raved about was the design—subway tiles, both outside and inside; boxy light boxes that made the room moody and intimate; a long, burnished bar. On its block, the place seems so low-key as to be overlooked. In the end, the night concluded at Freddy’s, the venerable dive bar on Dean St., whose final day approaches whenever the Atlantic Yards project begins construction. New Brooklyn sophistication has its place, but it’s nice to pay tribute to the old neighborhood, while you can.

Sign up for the New Yorker Recommends newsletter and get expert recommendations every week from the worlds of film, literature, and music.